Requiem for Lena
By Veronica Coburn
Age range
11 – 13, 13 – 15, 16 +
Cast size
Under 10
Approx. running time
60 – 90 mins
Gender breakdown
Female: 8
Setting
Dublin, 1940's to present day.
Note
A one-act memory play for an all female cast.
First performance
First performed by The Gaiety School of Acting, 2002. Published in Playshare – Volume 1 (NAYD, 2005).
Synopsis
A young woman sorts through her mother’s belongings after her death – a suicide. As the young woman looks at old photos, recalling memories and family stories, her mother and her six aunts bring to life vivid moments from their lives. They remember and recreate Dublin in the 1940s and 50s. Their stories illustrate the hopes, dreams and social circumstances that defined women of that time. The piece was inspired by Mozart’s Requiem.